Infographic: the history of the Call of Duty vs. Battlefield grudge match

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 are two of the biggest games coming out this fall, all part of a grudge match that is certain to delight gamers around the world.

Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3 came out on Oct. 25, while Activision Blizzard’s Modern Warfare 3 debuted in stores last night at midnight.

Just how long have these two franchises been dueling? The timeline at the right, created by Visual.ly, illustrates the journey these games have made since 2002 and the sales that each title has racked up along the way. All told, billions of dollars have been spent, and that doesn’t even include the money spent on EA’s other big shooting franchise, Medal of Honor.

The time starts with Battlefield 1942 in 2002 and Call of Duty in 2003. So far, Battlefield 3 has sold more than 5 million units in its first week of sales. But Modern Warfare 3 is expected to clear more than 20 million units when all is said and done. If it does so, it could beat the previous highest-selling game of all time: last year’s Call of Duty Black Ops.